


Counting Stars

by RefugeeofTumblr



Series: flight was never so beautiful / and the sky was never so clear [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Mourning, Scattering ashes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 14:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7443577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RefugeeofTumblr/pseuds/RefugeeofTumblr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One year after the events of The Hunter's Glory, Harrison tries to give Tess a proper goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Counting Stars

How did that old prayer go? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust?

Harrison can’t see the appeal. Tess is still dead. He’s still an unholy (hah) hybrid of man and bird. _Then again_ , Harrison muses as he watches early dawn light creep over the horizon, _what words could possibly make holding my wife’s ashes better?_

Salt laden air rushes past the mutant as he stands immobile at the edge of the water. His sharp blue eyes fix on a lone star just above the junction of sky and water; the star would be nigh impossible to see were he an average human being. As things are, he can pick out the tiny blue flicker with ease.

Not blue. Teal.

Harrison’s chest aches as he sees that star, the same color as Tess’s once-bright gaze. The two images merge together in his mind until the flashing brilliance is one.

And if the light begins to fracture as tears fill his eyes, that’s Harrison’s secret to keep.

~

Hours later, the mutant is finally stirred back to action by the brightening sun. Pale, radiant shades of pink and lemon yellow stain the dawn sky, and fuck, even this reminds him of Tess. Her skin used to be those colors, a sibilant voice taunts from the lightless depths that are Harrison’s mind.

The canister is still cool in his hands as Harrison grits his teeth and steps forward, close to the water’s edge. Little lapping waves caress his clawed, avian feet as he pops open the canister lid.

A scent that Harrison can only describe as death mingles with the stink of sea salt in his nostrils as he takes a last steadying breath. _This is it_. Not much, perhaps, when she deserves a funeral attended by all her family and friends. Hell, there should be a national holiday named after her; Tess was a star, ready to change the world with her light. But at least now she’ll get something better than an unmarked grave hidden in a forest. At least she won’t have to share it with the man who killed her.

At least.

Tess’s ashes flow out to sea, carried by tiny, lapping waves.

‘God, I’m sorry.’

A broken prayer blown away in the breeze. Wing beats, the sound of them deep and heavy, full of power. Then nothing but the ever-present sand and surf.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, elrhiarhodan inspires and encourages me. Thank you so much, my friend. As always, please don't hesitate to point out any errors you see to me. And suggestions are welcome also!


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